GREENSBORO - The North Carolina A&T men's basketball
team came into Saturday evening's game at home against Bethune-Cookman, desperately
needing a win. With the goal being to finish in the Top-3 of the MEAC standings,
the Aggies were stuck in the middle of the pack with only eight conference games
remaining. And things didn't look good early.

The Aggies trailed the Wildcats by 11, 12 minutes into Saturday's game.
A&T head coach Cy was in need of someone to meet the challenge. He found
three. Lamont Middleton and Adrian Powell
answered the call on offense, while Austin Witter provided the defensive spark
to lead the Aggies to a 65-55 win over the Wildcats.

"We challenged [Lamont] to lead during a timeout," said Alexander. "He
didn't necessarily have to do it just by scoring, he needed to put people in
position to score, and he got the job done."

Middleton quickly got the Aggies back into the contest as he scored eight
points in a four-minute span. Witter capped a 15-4 run with a layup, tying the
game at 25 at the 2:29 mark. A layup from DaMetrius Upchurch and a free throw
from Powell gave the Aggies a 28-25 lead at the half.

Middleton, Powell, and Witter then turned up the offense in the second
half, as they combined for 15 points in a 23-10 spurt that essentially put the
game out of reach. A&T scorched the nets after halftime, connecting on
11-of-17 shots from the field and 13-of-16 from the free throw line.

Middleton led all scorers with 17 points, while Powell finished with 13.
Adrien Coleman and Javoris Bryant had 12 points apiece for the Wildcats (9-15,
4-5 MEAC). Witter, the reigning MEAC Defensive Player of the Week, provided most
of the defensive highlights, as he blocked five shots and grabbed a game-high
14 rebounds, all on the defensive end.

"I was pleasantly surprised at what Austin gave us today," said
Alexander. "He's missed practice all week due to a foot injury, and played well
through the pain. We didn't expect him to be the defender that he is, but his
play is a tribute to his heart and effort. He's accepted his role as a shot
blocker and defensive stopper, and he's figured out that he can earn some
recognition with his defense."

The game plan was to limit opportunities for the Wildcat guards,
especially Kevin Dukes. Dukes came into the game with a reputation for
punishing A&T. He had a combined 18 3-pointers in his three previous
contests against the Aggies. On Saturday, Dukes finished with just nine points
on 3-for-9 shooting from the field, and hit only 2 of 7 from beyond the arc. B-CU
went 3-for-18 from 3-point range, a far cry from the 12 3-pointers made in the
earlier contest.

"Bethune-Cookman came out with a lot of spunk and effort," Alexander
said. "We had to come out of our matchup zone and go to a man-to-man, which
wasn't effective (in the first game) in Daytona. But we executed very well."

It was the Aggies first win over the Wildcats in four tries, and keeps
them in position to earn one of the three first-round byes in the MEAC
Tournament. The Aggies (12-12, 5-4 MEAC)
will look to get a streak going as they will take on Florida A&M in Corbett
Sports Center on Monday night at 8 pm. After Florida A&M, the Aggies will
have to play three difficult road games in a row.

It will start with what is surely to be an emotional return to S.C. State
for Alexander on Feb. 16. Alexander won five MEAC Championships over a 16-year
span in Orangeburg, S.C. The Aggies will then face the No. 3 team in the
conference in Savannah State on Feb. 18, before playing the No. 2 team in the
conference in archrival N.C. Central on Feb. 23.

"We've got to work on being consistent," said Alexander. "And part of our
inconsistency is we've not been able to win more than two games in a row all
season. "So we're not worried about getting three in a row right now. We're
trying to win on Monday, so we can put ourselves in position to have an overall
winning record before we go on the road, and we can be solidly somewhere in
fourth or fifth place. That will put us in a position to keep climbing that
mountain, so we can get in the top three."